15, Mealcheapen Street

No. 15 Mealcheapen Street is an inn that has been converted into a shop. It was built in 1748, with later additions and alterations, including a renewed late 20th-century ground floor and shop front, as well as attics. The building is constructed of pinkish-red brick in Flemish bond, featuring a renewed timber cornice and a plain tile roof, likely with a timber frame.

The exterior consists of two storeys with attics and three first-floor windows. The first floor has 12/12 flush sash windows set under flat arches made of gauged brick, with outer triangular and central segmental baseless pediments crafted from rubbed brick. There is a dentil cornice, and the hipped roof dormers contain casement windows. On the ground floor, to the left, there is a 20th-century six-flush-beaded-panel door with a four-pane overlight and flat arch. The shop front includes glazed windows and a central glazed door, accompanied by Victorian-style outer pilasters and a fascia.

Inside, the building retains roof timbers with raised principals, known as Hughes' 'upper crucks,' and collars. Some interior features remain intact, including deal panelling and fluted pilasters in the front room on the first floor.

Historically, from the 16th to the 19th centuries, Nos 15 and 16 were leased together and were first licensed as an inn in 1608. In 1618, the inn, originally called The Prince's Arms in honor of Prince Henry, was rebuilt, and it was reconstructed in its current form in 1748. During the 19th century, it was known as The Shades. Mealcheapen Street thrived particularly in the 16th and early 17th centuries, primarily as a retail area, with its prosperity linked to its proximity to the Cornmarket, which led to the establishment of several large inns. The listed buildings in Mealcheapen Street form a group with those in Cornmarket and with the Church of St Swithun on Church Street.